(AFP/File) - Australia could change its legal definition of beer in order to stop brewers using a tax loophole to pass off sweet, pre-mixed alcoholic drinks as the thirst-slaking brew, according to a report. The report follows the government's decision to increase the tax on alcopops -- bottled or canned fizzy drinks usually mixed with rum or vodka -- by 70 percent to curtail binge drinking among young people.(AFP/File/Torsten Blackwood)

(AFP/File) - French adventurer Laurence de la Ferriere (pictured), who was recently awarded the French Legion of Honour, has been appointed as a district chief of the Dumont d'Urville scientific research station in Terre Adelie, for a 15-month mission.(AFP/File/Jean-Pierre Clatot)

(AFP/File) - Franco-Mexican 10-year old bullfighter Michelito Lagravere waves to the spectators after a bullfight at the "Plaza de Acho" bullring in Lima, on November 1, on the opening day of the "Senor de los Milagros" festival in Lima.(AFP/File/Ernesto Benavides)

(AFP/File) - Franco-Mexican 10-year old bullfighter Michelito Lagravere is pictured here during a bullfight at the "Plaza de Acho" bullring in Lima, on November 1, on the opening day of the "Senor de los Milagros" festival in Lima.(AFP/File/Ernesto Benavides)

(AFP/File) - Franco-Mexican 10-year old bullfighter Michelito Lagravere waits for his turn to fight at the "Plaza de Acho" bullring in Lima, on November 1, on the opening day of the "Senor de los Milagros" festival in Lima.(AFP/File/Ernesto Benavides)

(AFP/File) - Franco-Mexican 10-year old bullfighter Michelito Lagravere poses for a picture at the "Plaza de Acho" bullring in Lima, on November 1, on the opening day of the "Senor de los Milagros" festival in Lima.(AFP/File/Ernesto Benavides)

(AFP/File) - Yoga practitioners in Amritsar. Muslims in Malaysia should not practice yoga because it will erode their faith in Islam, a according to a senior Islamic cleric.(AFP/File/Narinder Nanu)

(AFP/Getty Images/File) - When he steps into the White House, US president-elect Barack Obama will have to make significant lifestyle changes, among them abandoning his avid use of email and the Blackberry (pictured).(AFP/Getty Images/File/Neilson Barnard)

(AFP/File) - US President Elect Barack Obama is seen speaking on a cell phone, on November 10, as his plane waits on the tarmac in Washington, D.C. When he steps into the White House, Obama will have to make significant lifestyle changes, among them abandoning his avid use of email and the Blackberry.(AFP/File/Stan Honda)

(AFP/File) - The seafront of Douglas, the capital of the Isle of Man, is pictured on November 18. The global banking crisis is shining a spotlight on this windswept island in the Irish Sea, as world leaders including US president-elect Barack Obama threaten to crack down on tax havens.(AFP/File/Guy Jackson)

(AFP/File) - A visitor looks at a model house for a Mission Hills property development in the Chinese border city of Shenzhen, displayed at "MIPIN Asia", the international property market exhibition for Asia-Pacific at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, on November 19.(AFP/File/Ted Aljibe)

(AFP/File) - Participants stand next to a property display at "MIPIN Asia", the international property market exhibition for Asia-Pacific at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, on November 19. There has been no worse time to hold an expo on the Asian property market this year than the month of November, as the impact of the global financial crisis on the region unravels.(AFP/File/Ted Aljibe)

(AFP/File) - A staff member of Singapore's Marina Bay stands next to the company's property development model during "MIPIN Asia", the international property market exhibition in Hong Kong, on November 19. There has been no worse time to hold an expo on the Asian property market this year than the month of November, as the impact of the global financial crisis on the region unravels.(AFP/File/Ted Aljibe)

(AFP) - Sheikha Al-Mayassa (L), daughter of Qatar's Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, attends the opening ceremony of the new Museum of Islamic Arts in Doha. The new Museum of Islamic Arts in the Qatari capital aims to show that Islam is a religion of "tolerance" and not "terrorism", guests were told at the opening ceremony on Saturday.(AFP/Karim Jaafar)

(AFP/File) - Commuters wait on a platform as a train arrives at a subway station in New York, November 21, 2008. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which manages New York's buses, subways and trains, warned this week of "severe" fare hikes, budget cuts and route reductions to plug a 1.2 billion dollar budget gap.(AFP/File/Emmanuel Dunand)

(AFP/File) - Commuters buy subway passes at a subway station in New York on November 21, 2008. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which manages New York's buses, subways and trains, warned this week of "severe" fare hikes, budget cuts and route reductions to plug a 1.2 billion dollar budget gap.(AFP/File/Emmanuel Dunand)

(AFP/Getty Images/File) - A subway heads into Manhattan in September 2008 in New York City. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which manages New York's buses, subways and trains, warned this week of "severe" fare hikes, budget cuts and route reductions to plug a 1.2 billion dollar budget gap.(AFP/Getty Images/File/Spencer Platt)

(AFP/File) - Commuters walks on a platform after disembraking from a train at a subway station in New York, November 21, 2008. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which manages New York's buses, subways and trains, warned this week of "severe" fare hikes, budget cuts and route reductions to plug a 1.2 billion dollar budget gap.(AFP/File/Emmanuel Dunand)

(AFP/File) - A Christmas tree ornament reflects people outside the New York Stock Exchange. Wall Street enters the year-end holiday season with little to cheer about as the worst bear market in decades appears to be grinding on with many fearful that the worst is not yet over.(AFP/File/Tim Clary)

(AFP/File) - File photo shows a trader wearing a Christmas hat in the New York Stock Exchange. Wall Street enters the year-end holiday season with little to cheer about as the worst bear market in decades appears to be grinding on with many fearful that the worst is not yet over.(AFP/File/Henny Ray Abrams)

(AFP/Getty Images/File) - File photo shows a Christmas tree outside the New York Stock Exchange. Wall Street enters the year-end holiday season with little to cheer about as the worst bear market in decades appears to be grinding on with many fearful that the worst is not yet over.(AFP/Getty Images/File/Mario Tama)

(AFP) - People walk through the lobby of the National Museum of American History during its official re-opening in Washington, DC. The museum famous for hosting US treasures from the star-spangled banner of old(rear), to pop-culture memorabilia, reopened after a two-year, 85-million-dollar makeover.(AFP/Nicholas Kamm)

(AFP/File) - A woman, reflected in a window, passes the Trinity icon by Andrei Rublev at the Tretyakov picture gallery in Moscow in 2007. The Russian Orthodox Church is under fire from experts at a Moscow art museum after it asked to borrow a precious 15th-century icon they say is too fragile to move, Russian media reported Friday.(AFP/File/Natalia Kolesnikova)

(AFP) - A firework display lights up the sky around the Atlantis Hotel during the official grand opening party on the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai. Shrugging off the global financial crisis, Dubai overnight toasted a new luxury hotel with a 20 million dollar bash attended by film stars and sporting greats and marked by a spectacular fireworks display.(AFP/Karim Sahib)

(AFP/File) - Women hold beer samples during a tasting festival in Melbourne. A new Australian government campaign is targeting binge drinking among young people.(AFP/File/William West)

(AFP/File) - Spanish Culture Minister Cesar Antonio Molina (3rdL) and other European Culture ministers attend the launch of the Europeana Virtual Library in Brussels on November 20, 2008. The EU's new Europeana digital library has swiftly become a victim of its own success, forced to shut down for weeks within hours of its launch due to the enormous amount of interest.(AFP/File/Dominique Faget)

(AFP/File) - Shanghai's iconic Peace Hotel, once known as the most luxurious destination in the Far East, is to host a contemporary arts centre, according to operators.(AFP/File/Liu Jin)

(AFP) - Guests are served by a butler during a test-sleeping in the planned '"Null Stern Hotel" (Zero-Star-Hotel) fitted in a nuclear bunker in the north-eastern Swiss town of Sevelen.(AFP/Fabrice Coffrini)

(AFP) - The sign of the planned '"Null Stern Hotel" (Zero-Star-Hotel) fitted in a nuclear bunker is seen before a test-sleeping in the northeastern Swiss town of Sevelen.(AFP/Fabrice Coffrini)

(AFP) - A man holds slippers and earplugs during a test-sleeping in the planned '"Null Stern Hotel" (Zero-Star-Hotel) fitted in a nuclear bunker in the north-eastern Swiss town of Sevelen.(AFP/Fabrice Coffrini)

(AFP) - Jonathan (L) and Mateo (R) of Belgium smoke a joint inside a coffee shop in Rosendaal, Brabant. On November 21 the mayors of about 30 Dutch municipalities will meet in Almere, north-east of the capital Amsterdam, to urge the government to act against the nuisance they claim is caused by drug tourism.(AFP/Anoek de Groot)

(AFP) - A policeman talks with tourists who just left a 'coffee shop' in Rosendaal, Brabant. On November 21 the mayors of about 30 Dutch municipalities will meet in Almere, north-east of the capital Amsterdam, to urge the government to act against the nuisance they claim is caused by drug tourism.(AFP/Anoek de Groot)

(AFP) - Christophe, 30, of Brussels, smokes a joint outside the coffee shop 'Azul' in Brabant. The mayor of Roosendaal, a small Dutch town near the Belgian border, has taken a controversial decision to close all four of the community coffee shops with special licences to sell limited amounts of cannabis, currently attracting some 13,000 foreign drug tourists a week. AFP PHOTO ANOEK DE GROOT(AFP/Anoek de Groot)

(AFP) - Jonathan (L), Mateo (C) and Abduhl (R) of Belgium roll joints inside coffee shop 'Liberty two' in Rosendaal, Brabant. On November 21 the mayors of about 30 Dutch municipalities will meet in Almere, north-east of the capital Amsterdam, to urge the government to act against the nuisance they claim is caused by drug tourism.(AFP/Anoek de Groot)

(AFP) - Clothes by French fashion designer Sonia Rykiel at the Musee des Arts decoratifs in Paris prior to the opening of an exhibition to mark the 40th anniversary of Rykiel's Parisian label.(AFP/Patrick Kovarik)

(AFP/File) - File photo of French fashion designer Sonia Rykiel, who celebrates 40 years of her own label, he is in no doubt of Rykiel's claim to a place in fashion's hall of fame.(AFP/File/Miguel Medina)

(AFP) - Two women adjust dresses by French fashion designer Sonia Rykiel at the Musee des Arts decoratifs in Paris prior to the opening of an exhibition to mark the 40th anniversary of Rykiel's Parisian label.(AFP/Patrick Kovarik)

(AFP/File) - Nepalese children are seen here at an orphanage in Kathmandu. In the past, foreign couples paid up to 20,000 dollars to adopt a child -- a huge amount of money in such an impoverished country and one that critics said spawned an illicit adoption market. Under the new rules, fees are fixed at 8,000 dollars per adoption.(AFP/File/Prakash Mathema)

(AFP/File) - Nepalese children wait for their turn to play on a swing at an orphanage in Kathmandu. In the past, foreign couples paid up to 20,000 dollars to adopt a child -- a huge amount of money in such an impoverished country and one that critics said spawned an illicit adoption market. Under the new rules, fees are fixed at 8,000 dollars per adoption.(AFP/File/Prakash Mathema)

(AFP/File) - Nepalese boy plays bat and ball with a flower and a piece of cardboard at an orphanage in Kathmandu. In the past, foreign couples paid up to 20,000 dollars to adopt a child -- a huge amount of money in such an impoverished country and one that critics said spawned an illicit adoption market. Under the new rules, fees are fixed at 8,000 dollars per adoption.(AFP/File/Prakash Mathema)

(AFP/File) - Fishmongers are pictured checking fresh fish at a market in Tokyo. Sushi restaurants, the giant fishing industry in the land is sensing crisis as consumers tighten their purse strings amid a recession, and the soaring yen makes it tougher to compete with imported fish. The fishing industry was already feeling the pinch from soaring oil prices.(AFP/File/Yoshikazu Tsuno)

(AFP/File) - Fishmongers are pictured cutting tuna at a fish market in Tokyo. Sushi restaurants, the giant fishing industry in the land is sensing crisis as consumers tighten their purse strings amid a recession, and the soaring yen makes it tougher to compete with imported fish. The fishing industry was already feeling the pinch from soaring oil prices.(AFP/File/Yoshikazu Tsuno)

(AFP/File) - Children collect drinking water from a stream in the town in Nakfa, northern Eritrea in 2005. Mauritius and Namibia are the best African nations for children to live in, while Guinea Bissau and Eritrea are the worst, according to a report released in Nairobi on Thursday.(AFP/File/Nicolas Germain)

(AFP/File) - An European flag flutters inside the European Union Headquarters in Brussels. The Welsh language, spoken by 600,000 people, got a cultural boost on Thursday when it was heard, and interpreted, at the European Union for the first time.(AFP/File/Gerard Cerles)

(AFP/Getty Images/File) - A worker touches up the recently unveiled Lord and Taylor Christmas windows on November 14, 2008 in New York City. For stores across the United States the holiday shopping season -- traditionally a big contributor to the overall economy -- promises grim tidings.(AFP/Getty Images/File/Mario Tama)

(AFP/Getty Images/File) - Pedestrians walk by a Christmas themed window display at a Macy's store November 10, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois. For stores across the United States the holiday shopping season -- traditionally a big contributor to the overall economy -- promises grim tidings.(AFP/Getty Images/File/Justin Sullivan)

(AFP/Getty Images/File) - A pedestrian carries shopping bags as she walks by Christmas themed window display at a Macy's store November 10, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois. For stores across the United States the holiday shopping season -- traditionally a big contributor to the overall economy -- promises grim tidings.(AFP/Getty Images/File/Justin Sullivan)

(AFP/Getty Images) - A pedestrian walks by Christmas decorations at a Macy's store on November 10, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois. For stores across the United States the holiday shopping season -- traditionally a big contributor to the overall economy -- promises grim tidings.(AFP/Getty Images/Justin Sullivan)